Dear members, guests, and community supporters,

Thank you for making our 95^th Anniversary Awards Luncheon a success!

Held at The California Club on Friday, March 16, Soroptimist International of Los Angeles (SILA) was honored to celebrate six phenomenal women from our community as well as first responders to the 2017 wildfires from the Los Angeles City and County Fire, Police and Sheriff Departments.

I thought you might be interested in seeing this Special Edition to our regular bimonthly SILA Newsletter which features these awardees.

If you are interested in learning more about Soroptimists, to become a member, or to support our activities to improve the lives of women and girls, please visit our website www.soroptimist-losangeles.org or contact me directly by clicking here. If you would like to receive our bimonthly newsletter, sign up here.  

Sincerely, 

President Jessica

For seventy years, SILA has awarded fellowships to women enrolled in graduate programs in Los Angeles County. Awards of $3,500 each were presented by Committee Chair Julie Mairs.

Corinne Zahlis is earning a Masters in Public Health at UCLA. Her passion is empowering women's and young people's health choices. She is involved with reproductive health and health education organizations at UCLA. Before returning to grad school, she coordinated a mobile vision program for preschoolers at underserved schools in the Bay Area. 

 

Lucero Noyola is a Mexican American first generation graduate student at USC pursuing her Masters in Social Work. As a young teenager, she experienced the juvenile justice and foster care systems. Foster care helped her turn her life around, although mistakes led to her becoming a single teenage mother. But she is now the lead researcher for the Beyond Foster Care Study, and core member of the Beyond Foster Care Policy Campaign.
 
 

This is a signature Soroptimist award granted to local women who provide the primary financial support for their families. The award supports their efforts to improve their education, skills, and employment prospects. Two awards were presented by SILA's Committee Chair Charlotte Lerchenmuller.

Fatima Juarez wants to become a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist for foster youth. Her long-term career goal is to open the first foster youth center inside a high school in Southern California.

Lorraine Allen is a middle-aged single mom with 2 young kids returning to academia and re-creating a career after a devastating divorce. As a student in radiology, she wants to inspire patients dealing with adversity and pain to push past their physical, financial and emotional blocks.
 
 

The Community Hero Award honors and recognizes women who, through their personal or professional accomplishments, use their skills and influence to improve the lives of women and girls. Two awards were presented by Chair Jeri Durham.


Nadine Watt is President of Watt Companies, where she oversees all commercial investment activities including acquisitions, development, and asset management for the company's six million square-foot portfolio of multifamily, industrial, office and retail properties.

An active business and community leader, she is a member of the USC Board of Governors, on the Boards of Brentwood School and The New Home Company, she is the first female Chair for the Los Angeles Business Council and serves on the executive committee for the Construction Council for the City of Hope.


Donella Wilson is the partner heading up Green Hasson and Janks' Nonprofit Practice. She has over 20 years of public accounting experience and is a frequent lecturer on nonprofit financial management and governance issues. Recognized is 2017 as one of the "Most Influential Women in Accounting" by the Los Angeles Business Journal, Donella's major volunteer commitment is in the area of homelessness among women. She is a member and immediate past president of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Women's Center.

The mission of DWC is to provide permanent supportive housing and a safe and healthy community to homeless women in downtown LA. In addition to its commitment to end homelessness, DWC is consistently recognized for its financial management, accountability, transparency, and its ability to measure the impact of its programs.
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It was SILA's honor to also recognize and thank the first responders from the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department who were so critical in the fight against the wildfires of 2017.